M16L1 History of Classification

To provide an organized way of learning and communicating about all types of organisms.

To "morph" means to change SHAPE or APPEARANCE. Morphology or the shape/appearance of an organism can help us group certain organisms together as part of the same classification.

•Binomial nomenclature gives each species a scientific name that has two parts.

•The first part is the genus name. The second part is the specific epithet, or specific name, that identifies the species.

Aristotle developed the first widely accepted classification system.

•Organisms were classified as plants or animals.

•Animals were divided into “red blooded” and “bloodless” and by habitat.

•Plants were divided by size and structure.

​The table shows how Aristotle may have classified different plants and animals.

•Taxonomy is the discipline of biology primarily concerned with identifying, naming, and classifying species based on natural relationships. 

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​Modern Classification Systems

•The study of evolution during the 1800s added new dimension to Linnaeus’s system.

•Scientists began to infer evolutionary relationships in their classification systems.

•Today’s classification systems are rooted in the work of Linnaeus but have been modified to reflect our knowledge of evolutionary ancestry.

•Taxonomic categories used by scientists are part of a nested-hierarchical system.

•Each category is contained within another, and they are arranged from broadest to most specific.

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​Taxonomic Categories

Mnemonic​
D-
K-
P-
C-
O-
F-
G-
S-

​Did
King
Philip
Come
Over
For
Good
Spaghetti?